T112 Insects and Terrestrial Arthropods in the Fossil Record: Are So Many Really Represented by So Few?
Wednesday, 7 November 2001
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
LATE CRETACEOUS INSECTS FROM NEW JERSEY
Paper number: T112-10
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Authors
Abstract
An assemblage of well-preserved fossil insects is described from the Turonian (90 million years before present) of New Jersey. The three-dimensional insect fossils are composed entirely of carbon and are preserved in clay. While only parts of insects are preserved, scales, setae, pores and even cellular details are visible. This detailed preservation allows identification to the family and even the generic level. Although many of the fossilized insects have affinities to modern taxa, others are previously unknown. The insects are preserved in association with a diverse array of angiosperm flowers; together these fossils have the potential to provide important insights into plant-insect relationships during the late Cretaceous.